News From Space!

Flight Day 12 saw Atlantis undocking from the ISS, and her crew is getting ready for the Orbiter to land Wednesday. Meanwhile, Endeavour is at the launchpad for a March 11th lifoff on STS-123. NASA reports:

Atlantis Prepares for Journey Home

Image above: Pilot Alan Poindexter maneuvers space shuttle Atlantis as it undocks from the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA TV

Space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station at 4:24 a.m. EST, ending its almost-nine-day stay at the station. Pilot Alan Poindexter backed the orbiter away from the station and performed a fly-around to allow crew members to collect video and imagery of the orbital outpost with the newly installed Columbus laboratory.

The Atlantis crew also used the shuttle robot arm and the 50-foot long Orbiter Boom Sensor System to conduct a final inspection of the shuttle’s heat shield.

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Flight Day 11 pics and video are up at the JSC Gallery. Discussion here. Status Report #23 here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.